Hand grenade



A. LOWY HAND GRENADE Sept. 28, 1937.

2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 19, 1934 Sept. 28, A L

HAND GRENADE Filed Sept. 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lhwluu..- lillll.

INVENTOR I4LEXHN0E L 0 W ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 28, 1937 Ltifiti PATENT OFFIQE HAND GRENADE Alexander Lowy, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Federal Laboratories, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application September 19,1934, Serial No. 744,731

5 Claims.

This invention broadly relates to hand grenades, but is particularly directed toward a gas emitting grenade, candles, bombs, and the like devised for the production of a smoke, a lachrymatory, sternutatory, toxic, lethal or similar irritating gas. This invention broadly consists of an improvement in a hand grenade of the type des'SClibBd in Ruben B. Lawrence United States Patent No. 1,620,475, the object of which is to provide means for increasing the combustion area or burningsurface of the solidified mass of gas emitting material to thereby secure a greater concentration of gas per unit time.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a container adapted for receiving a "solidified mass comprising an irritating or toxic compound and a heat generating fuel, the said mass being formed with one or more depressions to provide if desired a combustion area greater than the cross sectional area of the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet metal container having a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings for the emission of gases generated by ignition of the aforesaid mass from all sides of the container tending to make it unsafe for an attacked person to pick up the grenade and throw it back.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container having a corrugated cylindrical surface whereby there is afforded a grip by which the grenade may be better thrown as well as a plurality of inner channels or grooves within said container adapted to receive a relatively fast burning booster composition capable of fuselike combustionable action thereby providing a greater burning surface for the aforesaid mass, These corrugations are extended to include the bottom of the container for the purpose last cited.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container having longitudinal disposed openings and a booster composition composed of A, dust incorporated in collodion or nitrocellulose, or similar fuse-likecompositions, whereby painting with said booster composition inside and/or outside of the containers will effectively seal said openings against the atmosphere and prevent resulting disintegration and decomposition of said massby the atmosphere.

A still further object of this invention is to psovide in a device of the character described, inner and outer cylindrical apertured containers in spaced relationship to each other and having a top common to both, whereby a gas cooling and expansion chamber is formed between the Walls of the said inner and outer container the purpose of which is to receive the evolved gases of the solidified mass prior to their admission to the atmosphere, whereby said gases are permitted to expand and cool to an appreciable extent and thereafter issue from the openings of the outer container at a temperature below that at which flashing or substantial decomposition of the irritant would occur on coming in direct contact with the atmospheric oxygen and thus rendering the dispersion of the gas highly efficient on all sides of the container. Thus the waste of irritant which would otherwise occur by chemical reaction or decomposition into compounds or compositions lacking the desired properties of the particular irritant or toxic gas is largely minimized.

Another advantage of this type of construction is that gas is emitted to the atmosphere from the top and all sides of the outer container thereby making it appear more hazardous to pick the grenade up and throw it to a secondary point.

An equally important object of this invention is the provision of a hand grenade of this character comprising a molded solidified mass of ignitible material adapted to emit gas upon ignition, forming the exposed surface of said mass With a plurality of pin pricks or small punched out openings, applying a booster coating of readily ignitible material to said surface and filling said openings therewith to efiect a thorough uniting of the booster and mass into a homogeneous composition and increasing the efiiciency of the device without materially changing the horizontal plane surface of the solidified mass of the booster composition.

A further object is the provision of a hand grenade of this character comprising a solidified mass of ignitible material adapted to emit gas upon ignition, and a booster material placed thereon with a plurality of fuse-like extensions projecting into said mass, whereby said mass and booster are united into a unitary composition, separation thereof during handling prevented, and complete ignition of the solidified mass by said booster effected.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a hand grenade of this character comprising a solidified mass of ignitible material adapted to emit gas upon ignition, a plurality of independent fuse members embedded in said mass With their upper ends projecting beyond the exposed plane surface thereof, and a booster material applied to said exposed surface and covering said fuses, whereby said mass, booster and fuses are firmly united into a unitary structure, and said booster adapted to ignite said mass and fuses to effect complete ignition of said mass.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of ture. In the latter form there is shown a container A, solidified mass Ia, having an exposed plane surface 20., and embedded in said mass with their upper ends extending slightly beyond surface 2a are a plurality of independent fuses l4 and a booster ignitible material 411 suitably applied. to the surface 2a embedding the upper ends of said fuses l4 therein, said booster presenting an exposed plane surface adapted to be ignited by a firing mechanism similar to the form above described. Said fuses l4 not only constitute interlocking binding elements to effect the rigid uniting of the booster and solidified materials but are adapted to increasethe ignitibility of mass Ia by booster 2a, thus effecting rigid connection and complete ignition of said mass la, as will be clear without further discussion.

There is shown in Figure 6 a cross section of the cylindrical container having a plurality of corrugations l6 which may be adapted to receive one of the fuses M or as I now prefer in my present practice a coating 11 of the booster material 2a. Obviously any number of corrugations may be provided, as desired, although I have herein shown three, as present practice and existing material indicate that it serves the desired purpose. The corrugations l6 may be dis-posed transversely of the longitudinal axis of the container but in accordance with present practice I prefer to dispose them parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the container because such latter disposition affords a better hand grip for throwing the grenade. The corrugations l6 are provided with spaced openings l8, as shown in Figure 5, or with elongated slotted openings I8 extending substantially the entire length of the corrugations I6 as illustrated in Figure 9. The painting of the corrugations with the booster mix serves to effectively seal the openings l8 to the atmospheric air.

There is shown in Figure 7 a cross section of a cylindrical container constituting a modification of that shown in Figure wherein a similar function is obtained by coating the entire inner surface with booster material 4a and if desired to more effectively seal the openings l9 thereof, the booster material may in like manner be painted on the outside. I have found in practice that the outer coating will be immediately ignited through the openings l9 and thereby serves to increase the surface heat of the container and further prevent its being picked up and thrown back at the attacker.

I have found it desirable in producing high concentrations of lachrymatory, sternutatory or toxic gases and particularly in combinations of lachrymatory and smoke (fog) creating gases to provide an expansion or cooling chamber such as is particularly illustrated by the inner and outer containers of Figure 1, wherein 20 represents an outer container duly apertured but unsealed against the atmosphere, and 2| represents an inner container in spaced relationship to the said outer container, apertured at points above the surface of the solidified mass l as specifically illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 4 by the numeral 22, which apertures are duly sealed against the atmosphere by tape, paper, paraflin, or other well known operative sealing means. By reason of the aforesaid provisions the gases are emitted from the openings in the inner container 22 to the annular cooling or expansion chamber 23 formed between the inner and outer walls 20 and 2| which serves to effectively cool the gases before they are admitted. to the oxygen of the atmosphere, thereby preventing a flashing and consequent disintegration of the gaseous material, which would normally exist if high concentrations were admitted directly to the atmospheric oxygen.

Having described my invention what I now claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device for generating an incapacitating gas comprising in combination a corrugated container having longitudinally disposed openings in said corrugations, a solidified substance of ignitible gas emitting material, means supported by said container for igniting said solidified substance, a fuse-like booster composition covering the normally exposed top surface of said solidified substance and filling the grooves formed by the corrugations in said container and normally sealing said longitudinally disposed openings to the atmosphere.

2. In a device for generating an incapacitating gas, comprising in combination a corrugated container having elongated slotted openings in said corrugations, a solidified substance of ignitible gas emitting material, means supported by said container for igniting said solidified substance, a fuse-like booster composition covering the normally exposed top surface of said solidified substance and filling the grooves formed by the corrugations in said container and normally sealing said elongated slotted openings to the atmosphere.

3. In a device for generating an incapacitating gas, comprising in combination a container, a solidified substance of ignitible gas emitting material, a booster substance, a fuse-like booster composition uniting said solidified substance and said booster substance to form a coherent mass, and means associated with said container for the ignition of said coherent mass, the said container being characterized by comprising inner andouter apertured casings in spaced relationship to each other forming therebetween a cooling and expansion chamber for the gases emitted by said mass prior to their contact with atmospheric oxygen.

4. In a device for generating an incapacitating gas, comprising in combination a corrugated container having openings in said corrugations, a solidified substance of ignitible gas emitting material, means supported by said container for igniting said solidified substance, 2. fuse-like booster composition covering the normally exposed top surface of said solidified substance and filling the grooves formed by the corrugations in said container and normally sealing said opening to the atmosphere.

5. In a device for generating an incapacitating gas, comprising in combination inner and outer apertured containers, a solidified substance of ignitible gas emitting material in said inner container, a common closure for the inner and outer container, means supported by said common closure and spaced from said substance for igniting the materials thereof, and a booster composition adjacent to and in ignitible contact with said means.

ALEXANDER LOWY. 

